11 Years In Prison For Man Who Carjacked Cabbie, Led Police On 80 MPH Chase
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man was sentenced to more than a decade in prison Monday, after being convicted of stealing a taxi and leading police on a dangerous chase two years ago.
Michael Findley, 33, formerly of Pasadena, Calif., was convicted on Dec. 6 of robbery, reckless endangerment, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property stemming from the incident back on Feb. 27, 2011.
He was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison and five years' post-release supervision.
At around 3:15 a.m. that day, Findley got into a taxi at the corner of the Bowery and Delancey Street on the Lower East Side. The cabbie drove Findley a short distance, but told him to get out of the cab at Houston and Lafayette streets, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Findley refused to get out of the cab, and the cabbie tried to physically get him out. Findley responded by punching the cab driver and hijacking the taxi, taking off at a speed of 80 mph as police chased him.
Findley ran red lights and plowed into oncoming traffic, before he finally slammed into a light pole at 15th Street and Union Square West, police said.
"This defendant stole a taxi cab and recklessly sped for more than 30 blocks through the streets of New York, endangering the lives of everyone who had the misfortune to cross his path," District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a news release. "It is a miracle that no bystanders were seriously hurt that night."
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